David C. Berliner Regents’ Professor EmeritusArizona State University

Inequality and Schooling:Why the USA is Falling Behind in Education

America’s school problems are not rooted in bad teachers and ineffective administrators—It’s economics, stupid!

*Vast inequalities in income in the US is our greatest school problem, and you simply cannot test your way out of that. Bush was wrong, Obama is wrong, Democrats are wrong, Republicans are wrong, and they are all are too stuck with their beliefs to see how wrong they really are. They would rather have someone to blame than look in the mirror and say “we are all to blame!”

*Most politicians believe that teachers and administrators make the biggest difference in the lives of kids—and they do, while the child is in school. But all these wrongheaded people have not understood one simple fact that stands out and should make them see the fault in their logic: Kids are not in school for most of their lives. They are with family and in neighborhoods, many of which are toxic physically and psychologically.

1150 hrs in school

4690 hrs in neighborhood and

with family

Hours awake per year? 16 x 365 = About 5840Hours awake per year? 16 x 365 = About 5840

County Poverty rate Birth rate (per 1000 women aged 15–19)

Marin County 5% 5Tulare County (Caucasians) 18% 50Tulare County (Hispanics) 40% 100

SocialAdvantag

ePISA Index of social

background

Low

Readin

g lit

era

cyHigh

Finland

Germany

Canada

This gap is in the order of 3 years of

schooling.

Steeper slope = less equitable results

Source: OECD (2001) Knowledge and skills for life, Appendix B1, Table 8.1, p.308

Social background & reading literacy (PISA 2000)

United States

ConclusionConclusionVast inequalities in income cause most of the

problems we have in the US educational system.

Now, A Quick Part 2Now, A Quick Part 2HOW DID WE FAIL TO SEE THIS?Switching from concerns with inputs to concerns

about the outputs of our schools has driven America in the wrong direction. We have had the great switcheroo pulled on us.

Framing the DebateFraming the DebateTerminology CountsTerminology Counts

“Frames are mental structures that shape the way we see the world.…When you hear a word, its frame is activated in your brain.”

—Lakoff (2004)

Framing the DebateFraming the Debate Increasing Usage of Achievement Gap

New York Times archives

• 1981–90 4 articles• 1991–98 14 articles• 1999–00 59 articles• 2001–06 217 articles• 2007 35 articles

Whatever Happened to…Whatever Happened to…Equal Educational OpportunityEqual Educational Opportunity

New York Times archives

• 1981–90 86 articles• 1991–98 66 articles• 1999–00 4 articles• 2001–06 12 articles• 2007 3 articles

Framing School ReformFraming School Reform New York TimesNew York Times, 1981, 1981––20062006

Framing School ReformFraming School Reform Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times, 1981, 1981––20062006

Framing School ReformFraming School Reform Boston GlobeBoston Globe, 1981, 1981––20062006

Framing School ReformFraming School Reform Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune, 1981, 1981––20062006

Framing School ReformFraming School Reform Education WeekEducation Week, 1981, 1981––20062006

Framing School ReformFraming School Reform Washington PostWashington Post, 1981, 1981––20062006

Framing School ReformFraming School Reformwww.whitehouse.gov, 2001www.whitehouse.gov, 2001––20072007

Achievement Gap• 344 documents

Equal Educational Opportunity• 3 documents

Could one just as easily “frame” the Republican Party as the party of selfishness and greed?

Achievement Gap Achievement Gap FrameFrame vs. vs. Equal Educational OpportunityEqual Educational Opportunity

Paradigm shift = political shift• Focus on outputs – Short-term measurable results– Pressure applied to schools, kids

• Forget about inputs– Adequate, equitable resources– Professional development– Effective pedagogies– Opportunity to learn

How poverty affects achievement

We all have heard of the occasional feral child, or about the child kept locked in a closet for some years. We learned from those cases that under extreme environmental conditions whatever genetic potential for language, height, or intellectual functioning a child had, that potential was unable to be expressed. The powerful and awful environment in which such children lived suppressed the expression of whatever genes that child had for complete mastery of language, for full height, for complete intellectual functioning, for competency in social relationships, and so forth. Lewontin (1982), an evolutionary biologist, discussed how two genetically identical seeds of corn, planted in very different plots of earth would grow to very different heights. In the plot with good soil, sufficient water, and sunshine, genetics accounts for almost all of the noticeable variation in the plants, while environment is much less of a factor in the variation that we see. On the other hand, when the soil, water, and sun, are not appropriate, genetics do not account for much of the noticeable variation among the lower-growing and often sickly plants that are our harvest. Genes do not have a chance to express themselves under poor environmental conditions. Lewontin’s example now has a human face. There is strong evidence that the influence of genes on intelligence is quite dependent on social class.